The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: Meet Alexander Gonzalez, the new assistant band director at the UW-Madison who is also a UW alumnus
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following press release from the UW-Madison about its new assistant band director. Like many of his musician colleagues at the UW-Madison, he is likely to see his duties curtailed because of the coronavirus pandemic and COVID-19.
After the completion of a national search, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music is pleased to announce the hiring of Alexander Gonzalez (below, in a photo by Robb McCormick) as the new assistant director of bands.
Gonzalez will conduct the Tuesday Night University Band, assist the University of Wisconsin Marching Band, direct the Men’s Hockey Band, and teach courses in conducting.
Gonzalez comes to Wisconsin after studying conducting at Ohio State University as a Doctorate of Musical Arts candidate, where he worked with all concert ensembles and the marching band. Alongside his studies, he was the director of the Professional School Orchestra and taught conducting at Capital University’s Conservatory of Music.
“We are thrilled to welcome Alexander and his wife Haley to the University of Wisconsin Marching Band family,” said Associate Director of Bands Corey Pompey (below). “Alexander is a supremely gifted musician and pedagogue whose role is integral to the success of our band program. He is thoughtful, engaging and direct. Our students will benefit in immeasurable ways from what he has to offer.”
Prior to his studies in Ohio, Gonzalez was a public school educator in Colorado and Florida, where he taught an array of courses at middle school and high school levels.
While participating in his Master’s degree in Wind Conducting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he was the director of the Middleton High School Symphony Orchestra’s Wind Octet and worked in education and community outreach with the Madison Symphony Orchestra. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear Alexander Gonzalez conducting the UW-Madison’s University Band in Michael J. Miller’s “Tribute for Band” in Mills Hall in 2014.)
“I am beyond excited to return to a place I consider home,” said Gonzalez (below). “The bands at UW-Madison were integral in forming the educator I am today. And I am equally excited to create a musical environment where present and future students can feel as loved, challenged and respected as I did.”
Gonzalez holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Florida and is an active member in the National Association for Music Education, the College Band Directors National Association, the National Band Association, Phi Mu Alpha, Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma.
“Professor Gonzalez brings with him a wealth of knowledge from his background in teaching music at the public school and college levels,” said Director of Bands Scott Teeple (below). “He is an extraordinary musician, pedagogue and individual. Alexander’s contributions to the UW Band program and the Mead Witter School of Music will deepen the musical experiences of our students. We consider ourselves fortunate to have him as a member of our team.”
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Classical music: After 54 years at the UW-Madison, the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) will move this fall to the new McFarland Performing Arts Center.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Starting this fall, the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO, below) will have a new home for classes, rehearsals and performances.
The news of moving to the McFarland Performing Arts Center (below) is very good for WYSO. But The Ear feels sad to see the University of Wisconsin-Madison and WYSO parting ways after a partnership of 54 years.
It feels like the UW, a distinguished public institution, is backing away from the Wisconsin Idea of public service to the citizens who fund the university. It is embodied in the saying that “the boundaries of the university are the boundaries of the state.” (Editor’s note: For more about the Wisconsin Idea and its Progressive Era history, go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin_Idea)
It feels, in short, like a setback to community engagement by the UW-Madison and its Mead Witter School of Music, where WYSO once had offices and used Mills Concert Hall.
Be that as it may, here is a WYSO email newsletter’s account of what led up to the decision and move.
“The news from University of Wisconsin-Madison started trickling in a little at a time.
“First, Mills Hall (below), where WYSO had rehearsed almost every Saturday since the Humanities Building opened, was scheduled for transformation from a concert hall into a lecture hall. (You can see WYSO performing in Mills Hall in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
“Then the UW began to reconsider whether pre-college programs should actually share space with university departments.
“And there was the growth of WYSO itself — from one full orchestra to three, plus two string orchestras, a chamber music program (below top), a full array of ensembles, and the community-impact Music Makers (below bottom).
“Meanwhile, 12 minutes away, the town of McFarland opened an amazing 841-seat, state-of-the-art performing arts center (below).
“And incredibly, the adjacent middle school and high school campus (below) had enough parking and enough rehearsal space to accommodate the entire WYSO program with room to grow — all of the student musicians, all of the orchestras, and all rehearsing at the same time.
“In a unique move of creative place-making, McFarland’s School Superintendent Andrew Briddell reached out to WYSO and suggested all of the above opportunities, plus collaboration with the McFarland schools, staff and community, and the ability to build on the creative history of the town itself.
“Passionate about music and education, Andrew Briddell, earned a double major in music and English from Indiana University, a Master’s degree in bassoon from Temple University, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the UW-Madison.
“”A talented bassoon player, Briddell (below) played with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and was music director of the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Birmingham.
“What a perfect match for this collaboration!
“It was an invitation too good to pass up. So starting in the fall of 2020, the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras will be in residence at the new McFarland Performing Arts Center.”
To read more details about WYSO’s new home, including design and acoustics, go to: https://www.wysomusic.org/the-wyso-weekly-tune-up-april-17-2020-wysos-new-home/
What do you think about the new move WYSO?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Classical music NEWS ALERT: Coronavirus causes WYSO to cancel, postpone Winterfest concerts this Friday night and Saturday afternoon. It will also postpone other events through April 11
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By Jacob Stockinger
Now it begins — the response of local arts groups to the threat posed by the Corona virus and COVID-19.
Here is an announcement The Ear received late yesterday from Bridget Fraser, the executive director of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO):
Dear WYSO Students and Families,
In response to the recent announcements from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra concert with the Madison Opera Studio Artists scheduled for this Friday, March 13, will NOT take place as scheduled.
All of the WYSO Winterfest concerts scheduled for Saturday, March 14, will also be postponed.
The safety and health of our community is our most important priority. The UW-Madison is cancelling all large campus events until April 10, due to the uncertainties presented by COVID-19 (the corona virus). That includes the Hamel Music Center, Mills Hall and the Humanities Building.
For the safety of our senior community and supporters, we are also postponing activities at Capitol Lakes and Oakwood Village University Woods.
Everything is a work-in-progress as we look at the calendar and rescheduling events, however. The range of WYSO activities currently impacted is below:
March 13: Friday, Winterfest Concert at the Hamel Center: POSTPOSED
March 14: Saturday, All Winterfest Concerts at Mills Hall: POSTPONED
March 19: Thursday, Master Class with Madison Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Naha Greenholtz at Oakwood Village: POSTPONED or POSSIBLE VENUE CHANGE
March 21: Art of Note Gala, Monona Terrace: POSTPONED
March 28: Music Makers at Bach Around the Clock (BATC): CANCELLED
April 4: Saturday, Percussion Extravaganza: POSTPONED
April 4: Chamber Music Recital, Capitol Lakes: POSTPONED
April 11: Chamber Music Recital, Oakwood Village University Woods: POSTPONED or POSSIBLE VENUE CHANGE
Thank you for your understanding, patience and support as we navigate these circumstances. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the WYSO office at: https://www.wysomusic.org
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Classical music: Four Madison Opera singers will collaborate with the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) to perform Winterfest Concerts this Friday night and Saturday afternoon
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By Jacob Stockinger
Each year, over a weekend, the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) perform the Diane Ballweg Winterfest Concerts.
But this year a new collaboration will take place.
On this Friday night, March 13, at 7 p.m. in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall of the new Hamel Music Center, 740 University Avenue, the senior WYSO Youth Orchestra (below) will accompany four singers from the Madison Opera’s Studio Artist program in which they transition to a professional career by singing minor roles and being understudies for leading roles.
Tickets are $10 for adults, and $5 for youth under 19, and are available in advance through the Campus Ticket Office, and at the venue 30 minutes before the concert.
WYSO says the Friday night concert is close to selling out.
Here are some details: “Now in its eighth year, the Studio Artist Program is an important part of Madison Opera’s artistic and educational mission. The 2019-20 Studio Artists are four singers (below) in the transition between their education and their professional careers.
They are (from left, clockwise): baritone Stephen Hobe; mezzo-soprano Kirsten Larson; tenor Benjamin Hopkins; and soprano Emily Secor. They will sing duets, trios and quartets. There will also be an orchestral overture and a prelude.
WYSO music director Kyle Knox, who is also the associate music director of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, will conduct both singers and instrumentalists. (You can hear WYSO members talking about playing and performing in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Says Knox (below): “Young instrumentalists rarely get to accompany soloists and singers. Playing opera in particular is something that tends to come much later in their careers, and for many of them, never at all.”
The program includes excerpts from favorite operas, including: arias by “Nabucco” and “Rigoletto” by Verdi; “La Clemenza di Tito” by Mozart; “The Barber of Seville” and “William Tell” by Rossini; “Lohengrin” by Wagner; “The Elixir of Love” by Donizetti; “Carmen” by Bizet; and “La Boheme” by Puccini. For a complete program with specific titles plus ticket information, go to:
https://www.wysomusic.org/diane-ballweg-winterfest-concerts/
For more detailed information about the Madison Opera Studio Atrists program and its WYSO collaboration, go to:
https://www.wysomusic.org/in-collaboration-with-madison-operas-studio-artists/
SATURDAY
On this Saturday, March 14, in Mills Hall in the Mosse Humanities Building, 455 North Park Street, the following groups will perform. No programs have been posted.
11:30 a.m. — Opus One and Sinfonietta (below)
1:30 p.m. — Harp Ensemble (below) and Concert Orchestra
4:00 p.m. — Percussion Ensemble (below) and Philharmonia Orchestra
The WYSO Winterfest Concert series is funded by: Diane Ballweg, with additional funding from the Wisconsin Arts Board; Dane Arts; Madison Arts Commission; American Girl’s Fund for Children; Eric D. Batterman Memorial Fund; and the Coe and Paul Williams Fund for New Musicians.
The performance in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall was made possible by an additional gift from Martha and Charles Casey. The appearance of the Studio Artists in this program has been underwritten by the Charles and Mary Anderson Charitable Fund, Charles and Martha Casey, and David Flanders and Susan Ecroyd.
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Classical music: The 7th annual Schubertiade at the UW-Madison is this Sunday afternoon and will explore the influence of Beethoven on Schubert
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By Jacob Stockinger
This coming Sunday afternoon, Jan. 26, is the seventh annual UW Schubertiade – named after the evening gatherings of friends (below) where the composer Franz Schubert performed and premiered his own music.
This year’s theme, given that 2020 is the Beethoven Year, is the immense influence that the older Beethoven (below top) 1770-1827) had on the younger Schubert (below bottom, 1797-1828).
The event will begin with a pre-concert lecture by UW-Madison Professor of Musicology Margaret Butler at 2:15 p.m. in the Rehearsal Hall at the new Hamel Music Center, 740 University Avenue, next to the Chazen Museum of Art.
Then at 3 p.m. in the 330-seat Collins Recital Hall in the same building, the two-hour concert will take place.
The concert will close with the usual custom. The audience and performers will join in singing “An die Musik” (To Music). (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear it sung by legendary German soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and legendary British accompanist Gerald Moore.)
A reception will follow the concert in the main lobby.
For more description of the event plus a complete program and list of performers – who consist of UW-Madison graduates and musicians including soprano Jamie Rose Guarrine (below top) and mezzo-soprano Alisanne Apple (below middle) as well as the Pro Arte Quartet (below bottom, in a photo by Rick Langer) – go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/our-annual-schubertiade/
At the site, you will also find information about buying tickets – general admission is $20 with free student tickets on the day of the concert is space is available – and about parking.
The event was founded by and continues to be directed by wife-and-husband pianists Martha Fischer and Bill Lutes (below) who also sing, accompany and play works for piano, four hands.
Lutes sent the following introductory remarks: “Ever since Martha and I presented the first of our annual Schubertiades back in January 2014, we’ve looked for ways to keep our all-Schubert birthday parties fresh and interesting for our audience.
“From time to time we contemplated introducing another composer – maybe even switching our allegiance from the immortal Franz to another of our favorites: perhaps a “Schumanniade.”
“This time, with six years of all-Schubert behind us, we thought we would do the obvious and finally unite Schubert with the composer who probably meant more to him than almost any other – Beethoven, whose 250th birthday is being celebrated this year.
“Once Beethoven moved permanently to Vienna at age 22, he soon became famous and eventually was regarded as the greatest of the city’s composers.
“Schubert, who was born in Vienna five years after Beethoven’s arrival, grew up hearing the older master’s works, often at their premieres. As his genius flowered early, Schubert was often challenged and inspired by Beethoven’s music.
“We bring together these two giants who lived in the same city, knew the same people, attended the same musical events, perhaps met or quite possibly didn’t.
“Yet Beethoven’s presence and example guided Schubert in his own road toward the Ultimate Sublime in music. Our concert of “Influences and Homages” features works where the musical, if not the personal, relationship is there for all to hear.”
Lutes also supplied a list of the song titles in English translation:
“Ich liebe dich” – I love you
“Der Atlas” – Atlas
“Auf dem Strom” – On the River
“Der Zufriedene” – The Contented Man
“Der Wachtelschlag” – The Quail’s Cry
“Wonne der Wehmut” – Joy in Melancholy
“Kennst du das Land?” – Do You Know the Land?
“An die ferne Geliebte” – To the Distant Beloved
“An die Freude” – Ode to Joy
“Gruppe aus dem Tartarus” – Scene from Hades
“Elysium”
“Nachthymne” – Hymn to the Night
“Abendlied unterm gestirnten Himmel” – Evening Song Beneath the Starry Firmament
Have you attended a past Schubertiade (below, in Mills Hall)?
What did you think?
Would you recommend it to others?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Classical music: Thursday night brings FREE concerts of orchestral, wind and piano music at the UW-Madison – including recognition of construction workers who built the new Hamel Music Center
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By Jacob Stockinger
This is an extraordinarily busy week for classical music, as the past week of postings has demonstrated.
But there is always room for more, especially at the University of Wisconsin Mead Witter School of Music as the semester winds down.
Take the concerts on this Thursday, Dec. 5.
UW SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA and UW WIND ENSEMBLE
At 7:30 p.m. in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall of the new Hamel Music Center, 740 University Avenue, the UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra (below top, in Mills Hall) and the UW Wind Ensemble (below bottom) will join forces for a FREE concert.
The concert will be under the two groups’ directors and main conductors — Oriol Sans (below top) and Scott Teeple (below bottom), respectively.
The program features the Symphony “Circus Maximus” – which ends with a blank gunshot — by the contemporary American composer John Corigliano (below top); “Fratres” (Brothers) by the popular 84-year-old Estonian composer Arvo Pärt with UW violin professor Soh-Hyun Park Altino (below bottom, in a photo by Caroline Bittencourt) as soloist; and “The Pines of Rome” by Italian composer Ottorino Respighi.
You can hear “Fratres” in the YouTube video at the bottom.
Billed as a “Builder Appreciation Concert” for those men and women who worked on constructing the new Hamel Music Center, there is also a pre-concert reception starting at 6:30 p.m.
Admission is free and no tickets are required.
PIANO DEPARTMENT RECITAL
Also on this Thursday, the UW-Madison piano department with present a collective recital.
It takes place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the smaller Collins Recital Hall of the Hamel Music Center.
So far, no performers or pieces on the program have been listed on the School of Music’s website.
Tags: #AmericanComposer, #ArvoPärt, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CircusMaximus, #CollinsRecitalHall, #ConstructionWorker, #ContemporaryMusic, #Estoniancomposer, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FreeAdmission, #HamelMusicCenter, #HomeWebsite, #italianComposer, #JohnCorigliano, #LivingComposer, #MeadWitterFoundationConcertHall, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MillsHall, #NewMusic, #OriolSans, #OttorinoRespighi, #PianoMusic, #PinesofRome, #ScottTeeple, #Soh-HyunParkAltino, #TheEar, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWSymphonyOrchestra, #UWWindEnsemble, #ViolinMusic, #WindEnsemble, #WindMusic, #YouTubevideo, admission, American, Arts, Arvo Part, bill, blank, blog, brother, build, busy, Circus Maximus, Classical music, Collins Recital Hall, composer, Concert, conductor, construct, construction, contemporary, department, director, Estonia, Estonian composer, Facebook, forces, forward, Fratres, free, gunshot, Hamel Music Center, Italian, Jacob Stockinger, John Corigliano, like, link, Living composer, Madison, men, Mills Hall, more, Music, New Music, Orchestra, Oriol Sans, Ottorino Respighi, Pianist, Piano, piece, pine, Pines of Rome, popular, post, posting, professor, program, reader, recognition, Rome, Scott Teeple, semester, share, Soh-Hyun Park Altino, soloist, subscriber, symphony, tag, The Ear, tickets, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW Symphony Orchestra, UW Wind Ensemble, UW-Madison, Violin, violin music, violinist, Website, week, wind ensemble, wind music, Wisconsin, women, worker, YouTube
Classical music: Friday night, the UW Concert Choir marks the assassination of JFK and the opening of Hamel Music Center. Plus, WYSO gives a Wisconsin premiere with a returning alumna as soloist
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ALERT: This Friday night, Nov. 22, at 7 p.m. in Mills Hall, the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra’s Youth Orchestra, under conductor Kyle Knox, will present a concert with two guest artists performing the Wisconsin premiere of the Double Concerto for Clarinet and Bassoon composed for them by American composer Jonathan Leshnoff, who is known for his lyricism. (Sorry, there is no word about other works on the program.) Tickets are $10, $5 for 18 years and under, and are available at the door starting at 6:15 p.m.)
The two soloists are principals with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The bassoonist is Nancy Goeres, a Lodi native who is a returning WYSO alumna. If you want to read an interview with her and get more background, you can’t do better for a preview than the piece by Greg Hettmansberger for Madison Magazine and Channel 3000. Here is a link: https://www.channel3000.com/madison-magazine/arts-and-culture/wisconsin-youth-symphony-welcomes-two-special-guests/1143372727
By Jacob Stockinger
At 8 p.m. this Friday, Nov. 22, in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, the UW-Madison Concert Choir (below) will perform its first solo concert in the new Hamel Music Center.
Conductor Beverly Taylor (below), the director of choral activities at the UW-Madison who will retire at the end of this academic year, sent the following announcement:
“The a cappella program is entitled “Fall Favorites: Houses and Homecomings.”
“This year I’m particularly picking some of the pieces I like the best from my years here, although I’ll still add a few new things.
“The “Houses” part is primarily “Behold I Build an House” by American composer Lukas Foss (below), which was written for the dedication of Marsh Chapel at Boston University, and which I thought was a good piece for the opening of the Hamel Music Center.
“We’re also performing the wonderful -and difficult —“Take Him, Earth, for Cherishing,” which British composer Herbert Howells (below top) wrote in memory of John F. Kennedy (below bottom). You’ll notice our concert is also on Nov. 22, the same day in 1963 when JFK was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. (You can hear the Howells work in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
“Besides these two big works are wonderful motets by Orlando di Lasso, Maurice Duruflé, Heinrich Schütz and Melchior Vulpius, plus some African, American and African-American folk songs.”
Tags: #ACappella, #ACappellaMusic, #African-AmericanMusic, #AmericanComposer, #AssassinationofJKF, #AssassinationofJohnF.Kennedy, #BaroqueMusic, #BassoonConcerto, #BassoonMusic, #BeverlyTaylor, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BostonMassachusetts, #BostonUniversity, #BritishComposer, #Channel3000, #ChoralMusic, #ClarinetConcerto, #ClarinetMusic, #ConcertChoir, #DallasTexas, #DoubleConcerto, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #folksongs, #Frenchcomposer, #Fridaynight, #GermanComposer, #GregHettmansberger, #GuestArtist, #HamelMusicCenter, #HeinrichSchütz, #HerbertHowells, #JohnF.Kennedy, #JohnFitzgeraldKennedy, #JonathanLeshnoff, #KyleKnox, #LivingComposer, #LukasFoss, #MadisonMagazine, #MarshChapel, #MauriceDuruflé, #MeadWitterFoundationConcertHall, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MelchiorVulpius, #MusicCritic, #MusicEducation, #NancyGoeres, #NewMusic, #OrlandodiLasso, #PittsburghSymphony, #PresidentKennedy, #PrincipalBassoon, #TheEar, #UniversityofTexas-ElPaso, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWConcertChoir, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinPremiere, #WisconsinYouthSymphonyOrchestras, #YouthOrchestra, #YouTubevideo, a cappella, academic, activities, African, African American, alumna, American, annoucement, Arts, assassination, assassination of JFK, Assassination of John F. Kennedy, audience, background, Baroque, Bassoon, best, Beverly Taylor, big, blog, Boston, Boston University, British, British composer, build, Channel 3000, Channel3000.com, chapel, cherish, cherishing, choral music, clarinet, Classical music, composer, Concert, Concert Choir, concerto, conductor, Dallas, dedication, di Lasso, difficult, director, door, double concerto, Durufle, Early music, earlymusic, Earth, Facebook, fall, folk songs, France, French, Friday, German, Germany, good, Greg Hettmansberger, guest artist, Hamel Music Center, Heinrich Schütz, Herbert Howells, Homecoming, House, interview, Jacob Stockinger, JFK, John F Kennedy, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jonathan Leshnoff, KENNEDY, Kyle Knox, like, link'tag, Living composer, Lodi, Lukas Foss, lyrical, lyricism, Madison, Madison Magazine, Marsh Chapel, Massachusetts, Maurice Durufle, Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, Mead Witter School of Music, Melchior Vulpius, Mills Hall, motet, Music, music critic, Music education, Nancy Goeres, native, new, New Music, night, opening, Orchestra, Orlando di Lasso, perform, piece, Pittsburgh, premiere, President, preview, principal, program, read, retire, Retirement, Schütz, Season, share, solo, soloist, symphony, take, Texas, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW Concert Choir, UW-Madison, vocal music, Vulpius, Wisconsin Premiere, Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, wonderful, works, written, WYSO, year, years, Youth, Youth Orchestra, YouTube
Classical music: The Karp family turns in a memorable and moving 40th annual Labor Day concert that also took listeners back in time
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By Jacob Stockinger
If you missed the free 40th annual Karp Family Labor Day Concert on Tuesday night in Mills Hall, you missed more than music. You missed the kind of event that makes for long and precious memories.
Sure, you can nitpick the program and the performers, who also included daughter-in-law violist Katrin Talbot (below right) and guest violinist Suzanne Beia (below left), who performs with the Pro Arte Quartet, the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.
You could ask, for example, which cello transcription worked better – the Violin Sonatina, Op. 100, by Dvorak or the Violin Sonata No. 10, Op. 96, by Beethoven. (The Ear votes for the Dvorak.)
And you could also ask which performer stood out the most. (The Ear thinks that is the great-grandmother and matriarch pianist Frances Karp playing in a Mozart piano quartet. At 90, Frances still possesses beautiful tone, the right volume and balance, and the necessary technical chops. They say there is nowhere to hide in Mozart, but Frances Karp did need any place to hide. Her Mozart was, simply, sublime.)
But, in the end, those kinds of questions and critiques really seem beside the bigger point.
What mattered most was the sheer enjoyment of hearing a family perform live some wonderful music by Mozart, Beethoven, Dvorak and Schumann (the passionate Adagio and Allegro in A-flat Major, Op. 70, played by Lynn Harrell in the YouTube video at the bottom).
And what mattered more as The Ear thought about it was the kind of time travel the concert involved.
There were two kinds, really.
One had to do with having watched the various performing Karps – clearly Madison’s First Family of Music – over four decades. It was touching to realize that The Ear has seen cellist Parry Karp, to take one example, evolve from son to husband to father to grandfather. And through it all, the music remained.
In today’s culture of short attention spans, that kind of constancy and persistence — through the inevitable ups and downs of 40 years — is something to celebrate, admire and cherish.
Time travel happened in another way too.
The Ear first watched Frances Karp accompany her son Parry (below top), then watched son Christopher Karp accompany his older brother Parry (below bottom). And it called to mind the days when – before radio or recordings – families made music together in their homes.
Historically, that’s how many great composers and much great music got started. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Felix Mendelssohn played piano duets with their gifted sisters, Nannerl and Fanny, respectively. Jean Sibelius played duets with his sister. And there were surely many more. Hausmusik, or “house music,” played a vital role.
And this is how it felt at the traditional Karp family concert. We felt invited into a loving, close and gifted musical family who were performing as much for each other as for the audience.
We could use more of that.
The musical and the familial mixed so beautifully, so convincingly, that all one can say after the event is “Thank you” with the ardent wish to hear them again next year.
Tags: #AntoninDvorak, #AttentionSpan, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BlogReview, #ChamberMusic, #ChristopherKarp, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FannyMendelssohn, #FelixMendelssohn, #FirstFamily, #FrancesKarp, #HouseMusic, #JeanSibelius, #KarpFamily, #KatrinTalbot, #LaborDay, #LiveMusic, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #LynnHarrell, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MillsHall, #MusicReview, #NannerlMozart, #ParryKarp, #PianoAccompaniment, #PianoAccompanist, #PianoQuartet, #ProArteQuartet, #RobertSchumann, #SuzanneBeia, #ThankYou, #TheEar, #TimeTravel, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UpsandDowns, #ViolinSonata, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, accompanist, accompany, adagio, admire, allegro, annual, Antonín Dvořák, ardent, ask, attention span, audience, balance, beautiful, Beethoven, blog, brother, celebrate, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, cherish, Christopher Karp, close, Concert, constancy, convincing, convincingly, critique, culture, daughter-in-law, decade, downs, duet, Dvorak, enjoyment, event, evolution, evolve, exposure, Facebook, familial, Family, Fanny Mendelssohn, father, Felix Mendelssohn, first family, forward, Frances Karp, free, gifted, grandfather, grandmother, Haus Musik, hausmusik, hide, historical, History, Holiday, Home, house music, husband, Jean Sibelius, Karp Family, Katrin Talbot, kind, Labor Day, like, link, listener, live, live music, long, Love, loving, Ludwig van Beethoven, Lynn Harrell, Madison Symphony Orchestra, matriarch, matter, memorable, memories, Mills Hall, miss, Mother, moving, Music, music review, musical, Nannerl Mozart, nitpick, nowhere, older, other, Parry Karp, Passion, passionate, performer, persistence, Pianist, Piano, Piano accompanist, Piano Quartet, place, play, Point, post, posting, precious, Pro Arte Quartet, program, Quartet, question, Radio, reader, recording, Recordings, Robert Schumann, share, short, sister, son, Sonata, sonatina, sublime, subscriber, Suzanne Beia, tag, technical, technique, thank you, The Ear, time, time travel, today, tone, tradition, traditional, transcription, travel, University of Wisconsin–Madison, ups, video, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, volume, vote, watch, wish, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, wonderful, year, YouTube
Classical music: Here is a year-long list of concerts at the University of Wisconsin Mead Witter School of Music. They start Tuesday night with the 40th annual Karp Family Labor Day Concert
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By Jacob Stockinger
Get out your datebooks and calendars.
Here is a complete listing for major concerts and events at the University of Wisconsin Mead Witter School of Music during the new 2019-20 season.
The calendar starts with the FREE season-opening 40th annual Karp Family Labor Day Concert this coming Tuesday night, Sept. 3, at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall. The program features chamber music by Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann and Dvorak. For more information about the program and performers, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/40th-karp-family-concert/
Using the search engine on this blog, you could also consult whenever individual or group you want. You could print it out and have it in hand instead of the usual brochure, which will not be printed this year. See a previous blog post: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2019/08/19/classical-music-the-uw-madison-school-of-music-will-not-have-a-complete-brochure-for-the-new-season-go-to-the-website-and-sign-up-for-an-email-newsletter-the-30th-karp-family-labor-day-concert-is-s/
Most concerts this season will take place in the new Hamel Music Center (below), which has a three-day opening celebration Oct. 25-27.
Please note that just a few programs are listed. For other programs, and for information about any admission charge, you can go to the School of Music’s home website closer to the event and click on Concerts and Events: https://www.music.wisc.edu/events/
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Tuesday, Sep 3, 2019 |
Karp Family Concert |
7:30 PM |
Mills Hall |
|
Sunday, September 29, 2019, |
Jessica Martin & John O’Brien – Nordic song recital |
4:00 PM |
Morphy Hall |
|
Monday, Sept. 30, 2019 |
Beth Wiese, Tuba, Guest Artist Recital |
7:30 PM |
Morphy Hall |
|
Friday, October 4, 2019 |
Pro Arte Quartet |
8:00 PM |
Mills Hall |
|
Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019 |
Chanticleer |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019 |
Wind Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Friday, October 11, 2019 |
UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sunday, October 13, 2019 |
University Bands |
2:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Tuesday, October 15, 2019 |
Contemporary Jazz & Blue Note Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Wednesday, October 16, 2019 |
Wisconsin Brass Quintet – Faculty Concert Series |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Thursday, October 17 |
Jazz Faculty Quintet with special guest Michael Dudley, trumpet |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Monday, October 21, 2019 |
Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble and UW Jazz Orchestra |
7:30 PM |
Play Circle |
|
Tuesday, October 22, 2019 |
Concert Band |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Wed, October 23, 2019 |
Jazz Composers Group & Jazz Standards |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Thu, October 24, 2019 |
Parry Karp with Eli Kalman, piano |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Friday, October 25, 2019 |
Opening Celebration Weekend: Hamel Music Center. Please check our website for details. |
All Day |
740 University Avenue |
|
Saturday, October 26, 2019 |
Opening Celebration Weekend: Hamel Music Center. Please check our website for details. |
All Day |
740 University Avenue |
|
Sunday, October 27, 2019 |
Opening Celebration Weekend: Hamel Music Center. Featured Event: Collins Fellows Concert |
1:00 PM |
Collins Recital Hall, Hamel Music Center |
|
Wed, October 30, 2019 |
Master Class with Violist Nobuko Imai |
6:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Thu, October 31, 2019 |
Violist Nobuko Imai with Pro Arte Quartet |
12:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Fri, November 1, 2019
|
Madrigal Singers |
8:00 PM
|
Mead Witter Hall |
Sat, November 2, 2019 |
Alicia Lee, faculty clarinet |
8:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Sun, November 3, 2019 |
Wind Ensemble |
2:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Fri, November 8, 2019 |
Wingra Wind Quintet |
8:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Sat, November 9, 2019 |
UW Chorale |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Thu, November 14, 2019 |
UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Fri, November 15, 2019 |
University Opera: Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream |
7:30 PM |
Music Hall |
|
Sun, November 17, 2019 |
University Opera: Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream |
2:00 PM |
Music Hall |
|
Tue, November 19, 2019 |
University Opera: Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream |
7:30 PM |
Music Hall |
|
Sat, November 16, 2019 |
Low Brass Ensemble |
4:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Sat, November 16, 2019 |
Combined Choirs |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sat, November 16, 2019 |
Timothy Hagen, faculty flute |
8:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Fri, November 22, 2019 |
UW Concert Choir |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Fri, November 22, 2019 |
Pro Arte Quartet |
8:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Fri, November 22, 2019 |
UW Jazz Orchestra |
5:00-7:00 PM |
Rathskeller |
|
Saturday, Nov 23, 2019 |
Undergrad Audition Day |
All day |
|
|
Sat, November 23, 2019 |
World Percussion Ensemble |
12:00 PM |
Music Hall |
|
Sat, November 23, 2019 |
Brass Ensembles |
1:00 PM |
?? |
|
Sun, November 24, 2019 |
UW Concert Band with Winds of Wisconsin |
5:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Mon, November 25, 2019 |
Chamber Percussion Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Mills Hall |
|
Tue, November 26, 2019 |
Opera Scenes |
7:30 PM |
Music Hall |
|
Mon, December 2, 2019 |
Piano Studio Recital |
6:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Tue, December 3, 2019 |
Jazz Composers & Contemporary Jazz Ensembles |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Wed, December 4, 2019
|
Jazz Standards Ensemble & Afro-Cuban Jazz |
7:30 PM
|
Collins Hall |
Thu, December 5, 2019 |
UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra & UW Wind Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Fri, December 6, 2019 |
Saxophonist Greg Ward with the Blue Note Ensemble and UW jazz faculty |
8:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Sat, December 7, 2019 |
UW & Madison Metropolitan Jazz Festival |
Final Concert, 3:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sat, December 7, 2019 |
Choral Union: Ralph Vaughan Williams’s “A Sea Symphony” |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sun, December 8, 2019 |
University Bands |
2:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sun, December 8, 2019 |
Choral Concerts at Luther Memorial Church |
2:00 PM |
Luther Memorial Church |
|
Sun, December 8, 2019 |
Choral Concerts at Luther Memorial Church |
4:00 PM |
Luther Memorial Church |
|
Sun, December 8, 2019 |
All-University Strings |
4:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
BEGIN 2020 |
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Sun, January 26, 2020 |
Annual Schubertiade |
3:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sat, February 1, 2020 |
Christopher Taylor and Friends — Beethoven Symphony Extravaganza |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Wed, February 5, 2020 |
Daniel Grabois, horn |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Thu, February 6, 2020 |
UW Symphony Orchestra |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sat, February 8, 2020 |
The Knights |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sun, February 16, 2020 |
UW Wind Ensemble |
2:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Monday, February 17, 2020 |
Chamber Percussion Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Mills Hall |
|
Tue, February 18, 2020 |
Concert Band |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Thu, February 20, 2020 |
Parry Karp, faculty recital |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Fri, February 21, 2020 |
Marc Vallon & Friends |
8:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Sunday, Feb 23, 2020 |
Les Thimmig, faculty recital |
2:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Sat, April 18, 2020 |
Low Brass Ensemble |
4:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Fri, February 28, 2020
|
Pro Arte Quartet |
8:00 PM
|
Collins Hall |
Sat, February 29, 2020 |
Wingra Wind Quintet |
8:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Fri, February 28, 2020, |
University Opera – Mozart’s Così fan tutte |
7:30 PM |
Music Hall |
|
Sun, March 1, 2020 |
University Opera – Mozart’s Così fan tutte |
2:00 PM |
Music Hall |
|
Tue, March 3, 2020 |
University Opera – Mozart’s Così fan tutte |
7:30 PM |
Music Hall |
|
Sun, March 1, 2020 |
Winds of Wisconsin |
5:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Wed, March 4, 2020 |
Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble & Jazz Composers Group |
7:30 |
Collins Hall |
|
Thu, March 5, 2020 |
Blue Note Ensemble & Jazz Standards Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Sat, March 7, 2020 |
UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra with guest pianist Wu Han |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sun, March 8, 2020 |
University Bands |
2:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Tue, March 10, 2020 |
Percussion Department Recital |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Weds March 11, 2020 |
UW Jazz Orchestra |
7:30 PM |
Play Circle |
|
Wednesday, March 11, 2020 |
Wisconsin Brass Quintet – Faculty Concert Series |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Thu, March 12, 2020 |
UW Wind Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Fri, March 27, 2020 |
Le Domaine Musicale with Marc Vallon and Friends |
8:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Sun, March 29, 2020 |
Concert Band |
2:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sun, April 5, 2020 |
Beethoven Competition Winners’ Recital |
3:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Sun, April 5, 2020 |
“Symphony Showcase” Concerto Winners’ Solo Concert |
7:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sat, April 11, 2020 |
Chorale |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Fri, April 12, 2019 |
Perlman Trio Chamber Concert |
3:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Tue, April 14, 2020 |
Opera Scenes |
7:30 PM |
Music Hall |
|
Wed, April 15, 2020 |
Contested Homes: Migrant Liberation Movement Suite |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Thu, April 16, 2020 |
Pro Arte Quartet |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Fri, April 17, 2020 |
Combined Choirs |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sat, April 18, 2020 |
Low Brass Ensemble |
4:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sat, April 18, 2020
|
UW-Madison Choral Reunion concert featuring Concert Choir, Madrigals and alumni |
8:00 PM
|
Mead Witter Hall |
Mon, April 20, 2020 |
Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble & Blue Note Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Tue, April 21, 2020 |
Jazz Standards Ensemble & Jazz Composers Group |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Wed, April 22, 2020 |
Chamber Percussion Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Mills Hall |
|
Thu, April 23, 2020 |
UW Jazz Orchestra with the UW Honors Jazz Band |
7:30 PM |
Music Hall |
|
Fri, April 24, 2020 |
Concert Band and Wind Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sat, April 25, 2020 |
All-University Strings |
2:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sat, April 25, 2020 |
Choral Union: Giuseppe Verdi’s “Requiem” |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sun, April 26, 2020 |
Choral Union: Giuseppe Verdi’s “Requiem” |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Sun, April 26, 2020
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University Bands | 2 PM | Mead Witter Hall |
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Classical music: The gala opening this weekend of the UW-Madison’s new Hamel Music Center is SOLD OUT. What do you think of the building, the music and the event? Plus, veteran music critic John W. Barker has died
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ALERT: Word arrived late last night that the respected longtime music critic John W. Barker, a retired UW-Madison professor of medieval history, died Thursday morning. He wrote locally for Isthmus, The Capital Times and this blog. Details will be shared when they are known.
By Jacob Stockinger
This weekend, Oct. 25-27, marks the official gala opening of the new Hamel Music Center (below, in a photo by Bryce Richter for University Communications) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music. It is located at 740 University Ave., next to the new wing of the Chazen Museum of Art, which has a special exhibit relating to the new music center.
The impressive $58-million structure, which has taken many years to fund (completely privately) and then to build, will celebrate its opening tonight, Saturday night (while the 14th annual Halloween FreakFest on State Street is happening) and Sunday afternoon.
The performers will include distinguished alumni, faculty members and students.
Here is a link to an overall schedule as published on the School of Music’s home website: https://www.music.wisc.edu/hamel-music-center-opening-schedule/
Thanks to an astute reader who found what The Ear couldn’t find, here is a complete schedule — long, varied and impressive — of works and performers: https://www.music.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/20191025-Hamel-Music-Center-Opening-Weekend.pdf
And here is a link to the official UW-Madison press release with more background and details about the building: https://news.wisc.edu/mead-witter-school-of-musics-hamel-music-center-opening-this-fall/
UW-Madison composer Laura Schwendinger (below) has been commissioned to write a Fanfare that will receive its world premiere tonight.
The opening promises to be a success, complete with receptions at the end of each performance.
In fact, the public has signed on enough that the FREE tickets to all events are SOLD OUT, according to the School of Music’s home website.
Taste is personal and varies, and The Ear has heard mixed reviews of the new building. (For the special occasion, you can hear “The Consecration of the House” Overture by Beethoven, performed by the La Scala opera house orchestra in Milan under Riccardo Muti, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Basically, people seem to agree that the acoustics are much improved over Mills Hall and Morphy Recital Hall in the old Humanities Building.
But public opinion seems more divided over other aspects, from the overall external architecture and interior design to the smaller size of the big hall, the seats and seating layout, and the restrooms.
So if you go – or have already gone – let the rest of us know what you think about those various aspects of the new building and about the various performers and programs.
As a warm-up preview, here are photos of the main halls or spaces, all taken by Bryce Richter for University Communications:
Here is the 660-seat Mead Witter Concert Hall:
Here is the 300-seat Collins Recital Hall:
And here is the Lee/Kaufman Rehearsal Hall:
But what do you say? You be the critic.
The Ear and others hope to see COMMENTS from listeners and especially performers. What is it like to perform there? Or to sit and listen?
What does the public think of the new building and concert halls? Are you satisfied? What do you like and what don’t you like?
Should some things have been done – or not done – in your opinion?
Does the building and do the concert halls live up to the expectations and hype?
The Ear wants to hear.
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